Thursday, January 29, 2009

I've made a few decisions regarding the new Canterbury set. I'm not going to weight them. I've discovered I've designed the set with too shallow a base for me to weight it. So I'm going to change the design once these are cut.

I've also decided to not do wood hinges on the notre dame box. It would be nice, but I could not find a scrap of wood of cherry or padauk to use. So brass it is.

I've oiled and poly'd the box. The board is Poly'd and I oiled the pieces last night. I need to get some lead shot to put in the pieces to weight them, then fill in the base, then I can poly the whole thing and put the felt shoes on. Then DONE!!!!

Now, also thinking about the next box. I've got a little bit of maple, a nice large board of walnut, and three real nice cherry boards.... so I'm still thinkin'. But as an alternate, I bought a cheap box from Michaels (5.99) and am going to finish it with some scroll work and put a chess set in it. That way I can sell a set without building an intricate and expensive box.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Well, not complete, the cutting is done. I still have to sand, finish, weight and felt the pieces. I also oiled my box, so I'm letting that cure and I'll flock it and mount the hinges this weekend and it will be complete.

I'm pissed at etsy. It's not doing anything for me sales wise. If I want to discount things to the bone, I can probably sell, but I can't sell things for less than materials. What a friggin' crock.

So here are some pictures of the completed Notre Dame set, with board and box.

So now I get to start the next set, the Canterbury set in African Mahogany and Walnut.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

This was not my idea.... it was from "Great Dane" on the scroll saw forum. I had an old office chair that I was about to get rid of, but instead, I built a riser from some pine boards and bolted it between the seat and the base. It works great.

I made a boo boo.... I miscalculated the size of the dividers for the display case box. I was 3/16 of an inch too high. I have already redone the dividers pattern and have it on a piece of mdf ready to cut.

Before I left for vacation I added a few things to the cherry and Padauk box. I put feet on it that stick with the angle theme and are semi-pyramid in shape, with a truncated point. I also designed a couple of handles for carrying the thing, and a lid lift. Both of those were compound cut items.

I also designed and built the dividers that have custom depths to each cubbyhole depending on the type of piece that goes in them. I also put in two checkers trays. I intend to flock the entire interior so it may look a little rough now.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

I'm going to be away from the workshop for a few days. We are driving to Denver for a show my wife and mother in law are involved in. When I get back I'm going to be fabricating wooden hinges for the Padauk and Cherry box. I've fabricated handled and a lift for the lid, and put feet on it. The dividers are all installed and have the supports in them for different height chess pieces. I also included two trays for checkers. So here is my to-do list to get that done... 1. Build hinges 2. Fit the hinges 3. Do the finish sanding on the box and interior 4. fill in any cracks or gaps in the dividers 5. Flock the interior and lid 6. Finish the piece with Danish Oil

Once I get past the crack filling, there is not much dedicated work left. Lots of working and waiting. It's a good thing I have other projects in the works!!!

My maple and walnut box had a set back. The dividers I designed did not fit. It's funny how you make one measurement miscalculation and it multiplies across the whole piece. I've fixed the divider design and have the design on a sheet of MDF ready to cut. Then I have to put the catch and hinges on, and put a decorative piece of walnut in the center opening to make up for the kerf I lost when I cut the piece apart. Then I'm at stage 3 above.

I'm also working on two chess sets. I've got the pieces designed, and on the wood. I trimmed the bottoms and need to put holes in the bottom for weights, using a 7/8 inch forstner bit. Then I cut the pieces. That should be a couple of week's work.

Monday, January 12, 2009

I'm in the middle of building boxes to house chess sets. Larger boxes, like the ones I need to make are not easy. You need to consider how you want to join the different faces of the box. I decided to do hand-cut box joints. They make an attractive joint, and are the second strongest joint in existence, with the dovetail being the strongest.

As you can see in this picture, the joints on the edge between the walnut strips alternate from one face to the other. They were a bugger to fit together. In the end, I still had to use a rubber mallet to convince them to join.

This is the back of the same box. It shows the strip of walnut I added to the box after it was glued together. I cut a channel with the table saw to put the strips in then fit them by hand. That took me about two hours.

The box itself will be in three pieces opening like a showcase.

Each side will have one full chess set - 16 pieces arranged to show them off, and a space for checkers. It's going to be very attractive.

The other box is made from Cherry and is more square. It will be a top closure design, and the pieces will snuggle into individual cubbyholes.

This one, I used a dado blade to cut a channel in the middle of the box joint and add a strip of Padauk wood. The cherry/padauk combination is striking and I wanted to play off that.

I posted this on the SSWC forum and am posting it here too. It's a jig I designed to allow me to put two items in it to compound cut. It provides a heavier, more manageable piece to run through the saw.Click here to get the PDF plan

What Sawdust Dreams is about

This blog and the contents are an outlet for my creative energies using a scroll saw. I am a pattern designer, for both 2 dimensional and 3 dimensional objects. I am a woodworker and love the wood I work with. I'm learning the differences in the wood and what will work and what wont. I will occasionally provide free patterns for scroll saw enthusiasts, but all will carry my copyright.

I hope you enjoy

About Me

Just a guy gettin' by in this world. Family, cars, kids, hobbies, issues... the whole package. Look, life is complicated. It's messy, it will never be clean and pretty. So each of us have to deal with the hand we are dealt, and NOBODY get's dealt 4 of a kind.